


Kuwei Yul-Bo, Master Magician and Benevolent Arts and Crafts Patron

by wafflesandkruge



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Children, Gen, Post-Canon, just general feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-10 21:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20534801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesandkruge/pseuds/wafflesandkruge
Summary: Zoya takes Kuwei along  on one of her visits to Alina. He gets along almost too well with some of the orphans living there.





	Kuwei Yul-Bo, Master Magician and Benevolent Arts and Crafts Patron

Zoya’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “Be on your best behavior, Ku- Nhaban. Do you understand?”

Nhaban’s golden eyes widened innocently. “Of course, general. What else would you expect?”

Zoya had seen the boy pull the most elaborate (albeit hilarious) pranks on almost every grisha in the Little Palace, including the Triumvirate. She was the sole person he hadn’t gotten to yet. She sighed and led them up the steps of the orphanage. She raised her hand to knock, but before her knuckles came in contact with the scuffed wood, it swung open to reveal a little Shu girl of maybe five. She stared at them with suspicious eyes, then yelled something in Shu back towards the inside of the building. Nhaban snorted, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

“What?” Zoya demanded.

“She’s…very rude for a five year old,” Nhaban answered in Ravkan. He said something in Shu back to the little girl, perhaps a greeting? Whatever it was, it caused her to grin ear to ear, grab their hands, and drag them both inside. 

Alina was in the parlor, trying to wrestle a toddler into his pajamas. A few kids were gathered around the dining table visible through a doorway, scribbling on something. Zoya hoped, for Alina’s sake, it wasn’t the table itself. The girl who’d led them inside ran off to join them. Alina straightened up as soon as she saw them and the toddler took the chance to dash away. “MAL! Get Oz to bed!”

“Hello to you too,” Zoya said. She took a seat on an overstuffed armchair. Kuwei remained standing, a polite expression pasted on his face. Alina huffed and turned to her. The years hardly seemed to have left a mark on the former Saint. While the stained apron and patched dress was a far cry from the golden kefta she used to wear, she certainly looked happier. 

“Zoya. And…” She turned towards Nhaban, confusion wrinkling her brow. 

“This is Nhaban. Nhaban, Alina.”

Zoya couldn’t tell whether Nhaban had put the pieces together, but his eyebrows raised as Alina gave him a small bow and said something in halting Shu. An awkward silence settled in the room, only occasionally punctuated by happy chatter from the children in the next room. Alina wrung her hands and started rambling nervously in Ravkan. “I’m sorry, did I say that right? It’s been a while, and Mal’s Shu is much better-”

Nhaban bowed deeply from his waist, Shu syllables sliding off his tongue smoothly. Alina beamed. She dug a thin box out of her apron and handed it to him. “Would you like to keep the children busy for me? Lately, they’ve been obsessed with drawing.”

Nhaban didn’t look put out by the request and happily drifted over to the kitchen. The children instantly swarmed him, small hands grabbing at the new supplies Alina had given him.

Satisfied that he was now sufficiently occupied, Zoya settled into her armchair and focused on her friend. “So, how’s the married life?”

* * *

“So you can make things explode?” Mei demanded in Shu. Her chubby fingers gripped Kuwei’s sleeve insistently. The other children had abandoned their scribbling (on the table, of course) and were eagerly hanging on to his every word, despite some of them not speaking Shu. 

“Not really. How many crayons would you give me to see a demonstration?”

“All!” Mei pushes her small pile of crayons in front of him. Soon, other children were doing the same, thanks to some translating by the more linguistically talented of them. The pile soon grew to include coins of various currencies, a half-eaten apple, and a crayon portrait of him. Kuwei hoped his nose didn’t actually look that big.

He rubbed his hands together and cackled dramatically. “Your offerings have appeased me, young ones. Now prepare yourselves!”

Thankfully, he’d worn sparkers today. He made a clapping motion so his wrists brushed each other, then a bright flame was cupped in his hands. The children leaned in, fascinated.

“Can you make it green?” Lenny asked in Ravkan. Her green eyes were wide with wonder.

“Not right now. But I _can_…” Kuwei trailed off as he wiggled his fingers. A small lick of flame broke off and moved to her palm. She shrieked in delight, and soon the rest of the children were all clamoring for their own fire.

Kuwei blamed his overstretched attention for what happened next. Mei, bolder than the rest of them, stuck a pink crayon into her fire. The tip quickly melted and she let it drip over a crack in the table. The pink wax flowed and filled the crack. The children let out a chorus of “ooo” and “ahh.” And immediately started copying her.

Kuwei had his hands full for the next half hour as he made sure there wasn’t any maiming for disfigurement during the children’s little arts and crafts project.

* * *

“I should be getting back,” Zoya admitted. She stood and dusted off her kefta. “Don’t want Nikolai getting any ideas while I’m gone.”

“Of course.”

They both headed to the dining room to collect Nhaban. Then froze. The room smelled faintly of sweet wax and every child was merrily burning crayons with flames. That were hovering in their hands.

“NHABAN!” A wind blew around the room, causing the flames to flicker. He leapt up, swearing in Shu. With a clap of his hands, every flame flew to the center of the table and swirled into a column before winking out of existence. The children groaned in disappointment.

“General. Are we leaving?” His eyes didn’t betray an ounce of guilt. “Look at what the children made.”

Zoya narrowed her eyes threateningly, but before she could berate him, Alina exclaimed in delight.

“This is beautiful! Did all of you do this?”

There were nods around the table. Zoya finally took a look. All across the table were veins of all colors of the rainbow. It gave the scarred table character, and each child looked immensely pleased with themselves despite the fact that they were probably in mortal danger not two minutes ago.

“We’re going to have a…talk once we get back to Os Alta,” Zoya whispered under her breath. He nodded serenely.

“Kuwei _gege_! When are you visiting again?” Mei asked. She clung to his arm insistently. Zoya elbowed him.

“You told her your real name?!” Zoya hissed. He nodded again and patted the girl’s head affectionately.

“I’ll be back as soon as my boss here lets me.”

The children instantly transferred their attention to Zoya. Small hands pulled on her kefta as they begged her to let Nhaban visit them again. She glared at him.

“Only if you finish your training this week _without_ skipping half the classes.”


End file.
